The latest Marquette University Law School Poll found two-thirds of registered voters support banning data center construction for at least a year with Dems far more likely to support such a move.
The survey, conducted earlier this month, found 67% of registered voters favor a one-year ban on building data centers while 33% are opposed. Among Democrats, support for a ban was much stronger at 83% and 17% opposed.
A smaller share of Republicans — 53% — said they favor a ban while 46% are opposed. And independents had the same split as the overall poll of registered voters, 67-33.
The poll also found public views on the costs versus benefits of the massive projects continue to slip, with 78% of respondents saying the costs are greater. In the previous survey, conducted in July, 76% said the costs of data centers outweighed the benefits.
Both surveys show how much public opinion on data centers has fallen from late last year, when 55% of respondents said the costs outweighed the benefits. The question was worded differently in October, including a reference to Microsoft announcing it was backing off a data center project in the face of community opposition.
When broken down by party affiliation, the results suggest opposition to data centers is concentrated among Dems and independents, though Republicans also say costs outweigh benefits.
Between October 2025 and the latest survey, the share of Democrats saying the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits has leapt from 55% to 94%. Over the same period, independents have gone from 55% to 80%. But for Republicans, the change is less dramatic, going from 53% to 64%.
In fact, between the last two surveys, the share of Republican respondents saying costs are greater has dipped from 67% to 64%.
Still, only 5% of registered voters said data centers were their top concern, ranking No. 7. The top issue was inflation and the economy with 43% saying that was their top issue.
Meanwhile, a separate question on inflation expectations highlighted the partisan divide around economic issues.
Sixty-nine percent of surveyed registered voters said they expect inflation to rise over the next 12 months, 9% expect it to decrease and 21% expect it to say about the same.
Democrats are all but unified on this question, with 94% expecting an increase, 1% expecting a decrease and 5% expecting no change. At the same time, 43% of Republicans expect inflation to rise while 19% expect it to decline and 38% expect it to stay the same.
Independents are closer to the Dem camp on this question, with 83% expecting an increase in inflation, 3% expecting a decrease and 15% expecting no change.
